


Thrice As Nice

by Taimae



Category: Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mild Smut, Multi, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-16 19:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13643052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taimae/pseuds/Taimae
Summary: How's life for roomate living for 3 people in love? We find out with Aki, Arashi, and Niina.A series of one-shots Leather & Lace Romance Week 2018 (on Tumblr)!Taking place during my 'Roomates AU'.





	1. Futons

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back! I hope you guys are enjoy these 3P fanfics I've been throwing out. I decided to do my first 'Writing Week' on Tumblr, and I've been having fun trying to figure out stuff. 
> 
> Day 1's prompt is '2 people, 1 bed'. So, what's a better way to get them all together than on a futon? Decided to start things off more 'Lace' than 'Leather', but I hope you enjoy it all the same!

“Delivery guy says that it’ll take another three days for the furniture to come,” Arashi said, pressing a button on his phone. “Good thing we brought our futons, huh?”

Aki and Junpei groaned. It was all good and well for Arashi. He was going to use a futon regardless, but they much preferred the comfort of a bed. Not to mention they didn’t consider buying padding to make the futon softer. It was going to be such a pain on these hardwood floors.

“It’ll be fine for a couple of nights,” Arashi reassured them with a bit of a sympathetic smile. They really were hopeless at times. “Alright, I’m going to try to get some shut-eye. See you two in the morning,”

“Yeah,” Aki yawned. “That does sound good. G’night,”

“Whoa wait, are you two kidding me?” Niina exclaimed. A wide grin appeared on his face as he then placed his futon on the floor of their living room. “This is our first night, and you wanna spend it separately? Look at all this space we have! This might be the only upside to not having furniture yet,”

“Oh! Like a sleepover… except that we all live here,” she laughed, placing her futon beside Niina’s and sitting down. “Seems like fun though! I haven’t done this since high school,”

“I have training pretty early tomorrow though,” Arashi replied, crossing his arms, his brows furrowed a bit. “You do too, for that matter, Niina,”

“Yeah, but this’ll is way more fun. No worries, sempai. I’ll deal with the consequences of my actions tomorrow,” he said wrapping his arm around Aki and pulling her close. There was a soft chuckle in her voice as the younger boy pressed his cheek against hers. “Come on Arashi, you know you wanna~”

“Please Arashi~?” Aki joined in, batting her big eyes and giving off an air of faux-innocence. “It’ll be fine, I promise,”

Arashi looked at the two with skeptism. Their antics were not as endearing as they would like to believe. At least, that’s what the young man kept telling himself. But there was always something always made it difficult to say no to them. Especially Aki. The way she’d tilt her head or send him a glance; her singsong voice and the way she would  sway her hips or cross her legs. How she managed to always grab his attention, he never understood why.

Well actually, he did understand why, but he didn’t want to dwell on it too much.

“You two…” The star judoka let out a long sigh and then gave a half smile, dropping his futon beside theirs and dimming the lights. “Just for tonight.,”

The two cheered and quickly hugged Arashi once he sat down with them. The hugs were strong enough to pull him down (or perhaps he just sort of let them) and turned quickly into the three of them lying down, side-by-side, their fingers interlocking with one another. Niina, Arashi, and Aki. It had been awhile.

 “Ground rules for tonight,” Arashi said, closing his eyes. “We try to get some shut-eye in an hour, and no trying to steal the padding from my futon,”

“Why are you looking at me when you say that?” Niina protested.

“Because I know you’re going to try since you didn’t think to get yourself one,”

“Yeah well, no cold feet touching mine! Because… well. Wait, Aki is the one with cold feet- anyway! No hogging the covers,”

A laugh escaped Aki as the two started to bicker. They were adorable.

It was a bit hard to believe that this was all real after all this time. A year may not have seemed that long to others, but to go from hanging out after school everyday to just seeing each other every other month together… it was weird. But now they were finally back together. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she was sure that they could do it.

“Here’s to our first night,” she said with a smile as she sat up. She then leaned over and gave them each a small peck on their lips which seemed distract from their little spat. In the dark, she could still see them smile slightly.

“So… how are we going to celebrate this momentous occaision?” Niina said, and hint of playfulness in his voice.

“I have a few,” Aki responded. “If we’re not too loud,”

“If it is what I think you’re saying, then it’ll be _impossible_ to stay quiet,”

“I’m not sure we want to wake up the neighbours on our first night,”

Before the two boys could continue, the sound of two soft thuds could be heard as her pillow made contact with the boys’ faces.

“And that’s two points for me,” Aki said triumphantly. “Wait-

What did you _think_ I was talking about?”    


	2. Get the Message?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Aki waits around for the boys, a familiar, but unwelcoming face joins up with her instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2′s theme of Leather and Lace is ‘Fake Relationship’! I’ll admit this was a little more difficult because they crew is already in a relationship, so I broadened the idea to more of a general lie. Also I wanted to throw in a very common aspect of the game; Date Disturbers. Apologies for the general roughness of this one! I wanted to get it out on time, so I didn’t really make it flow as well as other stuff. I will probably rework it later.

Aki looked down at the screen of her cellphone.

Hmm, they were late. Which was not abnormal, but she really was hoping that they’d come around soon so they could grab good seats for the movie.

“Hey oneesan, are you all by yourself?”

The young woman winced at the sound of the voice. Condescending, nasally, obnoxious…

“Did you hear me? Are you by yourself?”

Rude, pushy, oblivious…

“Tch. Girls; always on their phone, letting the world around them pass by,”

And of course, sexist. 

Pick-up artists were the worst.

“Sorry, I’m just waiting for someone,” Aki said politely with a slight smile and then going back to fiddling with her phone.

Honestly, she should’ve just continued to ignore. As soon as you give one of these guys the time of day, they were all over you. Back in high school, they used to really intimidate her and she never new what to do or say to get them to leave. When you get older though, you realize they are more of a nuisance than they are dangerous. They take up a lot of energy.

“So you do speak!” he exclaimed followed by a pompous laugh. “I see you around here a lot,”

“Yeah. It’s a popular meeting spot,” she absentmindedly looked at her feed, just hoping that he would take the hint.

But no, he just continued to blabber on, ignoring her curt responses. That’s what they always did. She honestly didn’t understand how they could continue time after time, rejection after rejection.

“So anyway, I was wondering if-”

 “I have a boyfriend,” she finally said, looking at him, her polite smile starting to show strain. Maybe that’s what the problem was. She should smile less with these guys.

“Oh I’ve noticed,” he responded, which made Aki freeze.

“Excuse me?”

“Does your boyfriend know you’ve got another guy around on the side?” his grin was slimy, creepy even.

“You don’t have to play so innocent,” he continued shrugging a bit. “I won’t tell him of course. All I’m asking for is just a quick drink at a café and then we’ll see how things go from there,”

“Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but-”

“Oh nice Aki. Got another one for us?” she felt a hand on her shoulder, and when she turned around, there were Niina and Arashi. A wave of relief swept over her.

“Hmmm… not really our type though,” Niina mused as he looked over the harasser. “What do you think Arashi?”

The red-head shrugged and crossed his arms with an indifferent

The harasser than shifted and laughed nervously. “Excuse me?”

“Huh? Oh, you didn’t know? This is our matchmaker. We’ve been looking for someone new to join us. You’re a little old… but not too bad I suppose,” Niina smirked and leaned over Arashi’s shoulder.

The two boys continued to grin and stare at the man who started to grow increasingly uncomfortable. His eyes shifted between the three of them until he finally mumbled something under his breath and turned around, running off.

“Ugh, I still can’t believe I used to be like that,” Niina mumbled, scratching the back of his neck, as he watched the man run off.

“Sorry we’re late,” Arashi replied with a long sigh. “Are you okay?”

Aki nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine it’s just… really annoying,” Mostly because she disliked the fact that her words and her actions never seemed to be enough. It always felt as though they had to go to great lengths to get rid or them. And then as soon as they did, five more harassers would pop up in their place. She could see the boys frown slightly. She knew they tried as hard as they could to back her up. They were probably just as finished with it as she was with it. But until then.

“Anyway… your matchmaker?” she said with a half smile, shaking her head as her nerves started to calm down. 

“Eh, the bodyguard response was getting’ a little old. We wanted to try something new,” Niina responded.

“It’s not a complete lie either,” Arashi responded in a very matter-of-fact tone.

Aki could see a slight tint of pink on Niina’s face at the mention but said nothing. It was sort of adorable.

“I suppose I can see that,” she responded.

“Alright, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for the movie,” Niina grinned.

“You’d better hope there are still good seats. We’re cutting it real close,”

“I’ll make it up to ya. Pay for your popcorn?”

“Deal,”


	3. Love & Baking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best kind of sweets to give someone are the ones you make yourself. And when you’re baking with someone else, it makes it all the more fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all which also happens to be today’s theme! I decided to take one of the most well known (and most frustrating) parts of the game; chocolate making and play around with it a bit.
> 
> Fun side fact: chocolate making in the game is the only thing I haven’t looked up for the boys. Each time I tried different combos, it was always one that Arashi hated. So I eventually would give up and just give homemade chocolate to Niina and buy the fancy stuff for Arashi.

“ _Taidaima_ ,”

_“Okaeri!”_

“Are Miyo and Karen still here?” Arashi asked, pulling off his shoes and jacket.

“They just left a few minutes ago,” Aki called out. She then heard his footsteps and she quickly scrambled to the entrance of the kitchen.

“Wait, wait!”  she said, blocking him from entering.

“Turn around!” she ordered.

Arashi shrugged and did what he was told. He didn’t dare argue with her on the night before Valentine’s Day. There were rushed sounds of plates clanging together, things being opened and closed, stumbling and muttered cursing.

“Okay, now you can look,” Aki said with a grin. “You didn’t see anything, right?”

“Not a thing,” Arashi replied turning back around and walking in. The kitchen was still a disaster, but what else did you expect when you had three people making chocolate?

“So, are we still good for tonight?”

The young woman nodded excitedly, her eyes lighting up. “Niina is going to be so surprised! Though I’m surprised you didn’t want to save this for White Day. That’s when boys give their gifts after all,”

“Girls get sweets on White Day, boys get sweets on Valentine’s, right? I think it makes more sense this way,” he grabbed an apron off one of the hooks on the wall and tied the strings around his waist.

Aki couldn’t help but smile to herself. It was pretty adorable that he wanted to do this for Niina. Arashi was a rather stereotypical jock in many ways. He was athletic, blunt and had a bit of a one-track mind. He much preferred to eat food rather than cook it. Despite this that didn’t mean he wasn’t a romantic at heart.

“I’m sure he’ll be really happy,” Aki could just picture Niina’s face all flushed with pink. Underneath his cool, trendy (and often cheesy), demeanor, he was easily flustered. Anytime Arashi doted on him, or Aki took the lead, he never knew what to do. If she was being honest, that was the most endearing part of him.

“So, what are we making today?” Arashi asked, gazing over at the young woman.

“Chocolate coconut cookies!”

Homemade chocolate was Aki’s usual ‘go to’ gift, but that was sort of a tradition she liked to do with Miyo and Karen. Cookies on the other hand, was something she had never tried for Valentine’s Day, and seemed like it would be a much quicker and easier project for Arashi to start out with. Besides, who didn’t love cookies?

Arashi listened as Aki gave him the directions of what ingredients to use and how to use them. She expected him to get a little frustrated or lose focus, but he actually seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit. Perhaps a bit too much when he started tasting the batter. He’d always try to sneak a taste when he thought she wasn’t looking. And inevitably, she’d playfully poke and scold him about him. Before long, the batter was finally ready to be put into the oven.

“We’ll check on them in fifteen minutes,” Aki said approvingly as she fiddled with the timer.

“Fifteen minutes?”

“Oh, come on, it’s not that long. Here. We can get some cleaning done in the meantime,”

Arashi nodded as he took a few of the bowls and utensils and placed them in the sink and started running the water. “Did you already make something for Niina?”

“Yep! For both of you, actually. I think the girls and I really outdid ourselves this time,” she responded as she started to wipe down the counters.

“You made me one too this time? That’s a first in awhile,”

“That’s because you have a finicky palette for chocolate,”

“A what now?”

“You don’t like the flavor I make! That’s why I always just got you store-bought chocolate.”

He was rarely a fussy eater, but she still remembered the face he made when she first gave him homemade chocolate. The man who could wolf down three lunches couldn’t overly sweet chocolate. But this time, she was pretty sure that she managed to get the right flavor for him.

“That can’t be right. I don’t even know what a pavelette is,” Arashi said furrowing his brows in mild confusion.

“Arashi…”

She couldn’t help but smile and then tilted her head as she took a closer look at his face.  

“You’ve got a smudge,” she said pointing tapping her own cheek. “Right there,”

“Here?”

“No, the other cheek… no a little further down… there. No, right…” Aki eventually gave up trying to guide him and went on the tip of her toes. She then reached up and wiped the chocolate off with her thumb.

“Oh,” he said with a bit of surprise in his voice.

“Your hopeless,” she giggled, wiping her hands with a damp cloth and went back to cleaning.

“And you’re really cute,” he responded with a half smile.

Aki stuck out her tongue at the compliment. She remembered when those sorts of comments would throw her off when they were back in high school. They were very blunt and obvious in a way that you weren’t sure if he was being sincere or trying to get a reaction of out of you.

“Looks like you’ve got a smudge too,” he continued.

“Hmm? No, I don’t,” she responded, touching her face.

“You do,” he said leaning in. “I’ll get it for you,”

His teeth lightly grazed the lower part of her neck before kissing it deeply. Aki let out a small gasp. Right. Original compliments weren’t his forte, but he certainly knew how to do the rest. Aki gripped at the fabric around his chest, feeling her knees weaken a bit.

“Is it gone?” she whispered in his ear, her cheeks warm and flushed.

Arashi lifted his head slightly, a half smirk on his face. “Yeah. But I think I see another,”

After lifting her onto the counter, he slipped his hand around her waist and cupped her cheek with his other hand, slightly tilting it before he pressed his lips against hers. His kiss tasted sweeter than usual; maybe it wasn’t so bad that he ate all that batter. She couldn’t help but laugh softly at the thought when they broke the kiss. Her hands slid up from his chest and into his hair, tugging at it slightly as his lips moved back down to her neck.

But then, there was a beeping sound.

“Oh!” the young man almost immediately stopped, his brown eyes lighting up with excitement as he looked over his shoulder. “That means they’re done, right?”

“Yeah, but you know-”

But before she could finish he already had his oven mitts on and opening the small door.

Well…

At least the fifteen minutes went by quickly.  


	4. Right Until Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one hates being wrong in an arguement, especially Aki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 of Leather and Lace! I’ve been having so much fun with these. Today’s prompt is “Disagreements/Making Up”. I had a hard time thinking about what they could fight about, but I do know how I wanted it to play out. They might be out of high school, but they’re still young and stupid. 
> 
> In the game, you can’t really get mad at the characters (other than not calling/refusing their dates), but they can always get annoyed at you if you say the wrong thing, so I figured I’d turn it around a bit. 
> 
> Happy Reading!

It was a dumb thing to get mad about, Aki knew that.

But she didn’t want to give Niina the satisfaction of being right. Perhaps that made her the less mature between the two, but so what? He acted like child all the time, why couldn’t she? She needed to make her point!

She just wished that she could have waited to make her point later. You know, when it’s not raining and you forget your umbrella. Late at night. When you miss the last train.

_“I’ll just catch the next train,”_

_“Aki, this is the last train,”_

_“No, it’s not!”_

_“Why do you have to be- fine. Guess you’ll be waiting here until morning. Jaa ne~”_

_“I won’t be because this isn’t the last train!”_

It was the last train.

Aki let out a long, frustrated sigh as she started to walk in the rain. Why did she have to…

No, this was fine. She just needed to find her way to a convenience store and buy herself an umbrella. And then she could just find a manga café to stay at. She hated overnighting in them, but it was cheaper than a hotel.

She unzipped her purse and started to sift through it. Everything was already damp from the rain… but where was her wallet? And then it hit her.  

_“Can I throw my wallet in your bag? I don’t have enough space tonight.”_

“Ughhhhh,” she groaned as she zipped her purse back up. Why was this happening now of all times? Maybe she could call Arashi? Yes, of course. She’d call Arashi! He’d understand the situation! And she could call a cab and pay when they got to the apartment. That would be so expensive though… maybe he knew someone she could crash with?

_Battery at 1%. Powering Down._

A small, high-pitched whining escaped her mouth.

Why was this happening?

A loud boom of thunder and lightning erupted in the night sky and it really started to downpour. Was this how she was going to go? Die of hypothermia on a nameless street after one of her boyfriends made an offhanded remark? If they found her body, would they at least comment on the fact that her clothing style was very much in fashion? Karen would be proud of her at least.

It was then that she noticed that it had stopped raining. Well, it was still raining, but not on her. She then looked up and noticed a familiar, pink umbrella.

“Man, this rain is really coming down hard, ain’t it?”

Sure enough, there was Niina, not looking much dryer than her in all honesty. She then noticed that he was clutching onto something with his free hand.

“Shouldn’t you be halfway home by now?” she responded, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks in irritation.  

“I remembered that I had your wallet. I got off the at the station right after,” Niina replied apologetically. “I’m uh… sorry about what I said. Earlier. That wasn’t cool of me,”

Her eyes shifted between his face and her wallet, before she slowly took the it from his hand. Well, an apology was a start.

“I’m still mad at you,” she mumbled. “And now you’re stranded too,”

“Eh, I know,” Niina replied, from the corner of her eye, she could see him smile apologetically. “But at least I don’t have to worry about you,”  

Aki gripped onto her wallet tightly. She really did want to stay mad at him. It was stupid, she knew that. But another side of her was tired in proving whatever point she wanted to prove. She was drenched, tired and her battery was dead. And he was here… and apologized.

Eventually, she slid underneath his free arm and nestled close to his body. Despite them both being wet from the rain, he was warm. She then felt a soft kiss on the top of her forehead as they started to walk.

“We still don’t have a place to stay you know,”

“Eh, we’ll figure it out. All-night karaoke, game center, pachinko… love hotel?”

Aki snorted. He really was impossible at times.

But, she was glad that he was here.  


	5. That Sweet Kotatsu Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you do when you’re snowed in?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 of Leather and Lace is “Trapped!” This one is a little rushed. I’m trying to get what I can out so I’m not too late in posting things! This one is certainly the roughest, but I may come back and rework it at one point!
> 
> P.S I love kotatsus and they truly are a trap. Mine has served me well this winter. It’s been a lot more snowy in Kyushu this year.

“Looks like the trains are delayed until further notice,” Aki said with a long sigh as she pulled off her coat.

“Man, it sucks we live so far from the mountains. Would’ve been perfect snowboarding weather,” Niina replied with a bit of a groan.

“Even if we did, you don’t look as though you’re going anywhere. Neither of you,”

The young man was lying down underneath the kotatsu, not only wrapped around the table’s blanket, but also cocooned into the blanket from his bed as he lazily played on his phone. Across from him sat Arashi in an oversized hoodie, with his headphones in, watching judo videos on his laptop.

“We could if we wanted,” Niina mumbled, burying his face into the blanket further.  “Come one, just join us. We can all use a day off,”

The young woman let out a sigh. She really was hoping to get out and run some errands, but it seemed like it couldn’t be helped. The snow was coming down hard and the city just wasn’t prepared for it. A light dusting perhaps, but not a full blizzard. But in this weather… well, it couldn’t be helped.

She eventually slipped under the warm blanket of the kotatsu, in between Arashi and Niina. The heater buzzed softly, and she felt her toes heating up. It felt nice, but she could already feel her motivation to do anything being sapped from her very being. What was it about kotatsus that made them so enticing, yet dangerous?

“Ugh, I already regret doing this. I feel like a lazy blob,” Aki whined, lying her head on the table.

“You’re such a busybody sometimes,” Niina replied, still not looking up from his phone. “Just relax for like, two minutes,”

Aki made a face, even though he couldn’t see it. She was completely capable of just lying down and doing nothing. She just didn’t feel like it right now. Her brown eyes glanced over at the two boys again. They really weren’t bothered by this at all, being stuck in the apartment with no real way of really leaving.

Ugh. Nope. She wasn’t having it today. She couldn’t just ‘relax’. She decided to lightly poke Niina’s feet with her own. It was then that she could feel him recoil.

“Aki! Your feet are freezing!” Niina complained, trying to roll away from her.

“They’re not that bad,” she protested, stretching further, purposely trying to touch him now.

“They ARE! Arashi! Can you tell her to stop?”

The older boy paid no intention and instead, put the volume higher on his headphones. Aki stuck her tongue out as she saw Niina’s expression change to that of betrayal. The nice thing about Niina is that she could get a reaction out of him rather easily.

She then saw Niina unwrap himself from his blanket and slide back under the kotatsu. A moment later, she felt her ankle snatched and she was pulled underneath as well. Needless to say, it was rather cramped with the two of them, the heater just above their heads.  

The young man’s cheeks were a bright pink when Aki nudged herself closer to him. He was always so cute when he was nervous. He probably didn’t quite think this through as to what he would do next. Flirt as he may, he was terrible at taking the next step.

Thankfully, Aki wasn’t.  A coy smile appeared on her face as she leaned in and kissed him firmly on the lips. Niina just needed that little bit of initiative. His hands slipped around her waist and underneath her shirt. She flinched slightly at his slightly cool fingertips, but they quickly warmed up against the heat of her body. She then felt him bit on her lower lip before travelling down her neck to her collarbone.

It was then that they felt the something on both of their backs. Icy colds hands that were worse than either of them combined.

“Arashi!” they said in unison, managing to squirm back out from under the large blanket, poking their heads out.

“Just making sure that you two didn’t fall asleep under there. It’s bad for your health,” he responded as he put his headphones back on.

“Keep doing what you’re doing though,”


	6. Unlikely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short reflection about how three friends came to be so much more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting these late, sorry! I’ve had a busy couple of days. Day 6′s prompt was “Friends/Enemies to Lovers”. I thought it might be nice to explore how the friendship turned into a three-person relationship. Happy Reading! Apologies again for typos! (Trying to get these out asap)

When did it happen? It’s been so long Aki could barely remember when it all started. The were an unlikely trio, as though someone tried to piece together a love triangle and failed; an up-and-coming judoka; a mini-nanpa, and a girl like any other. For all intent and purposes, they should’ve all gone their separate ways a long time ago. Highschool was only a small part of their lives after all; they had the whole world to explore, not to mention different goals.

Yet somehow, they went from being a couple of kids in their high school club to the best of friends. When she wasn’t with Miyo or Karen, Aki was spending almost all her free time with the two boys. They’d train, they’d go to karaoke, swimming, shopping… everything. They never seemed to get sick of each other. Sure, they would have the occasional spat, but it was nothing that really rocked the boat. They had a close friendship; something that she never new she could have after Ruka and Kou.  

And that friendship blossomed into something further.

 _“I think I love you,”_ the two told her on separate occasions. Those to occasions, she could remember with no difficulties.

With Arashi, they were at his house studying for an exam. Or at least, trying to. The judoka was never cared much for academics, but he tried to pay attention when Aki would try and help him. It was so left field to what they were talking about that she almost had a double take. She didn’t need to ask him to repeat himself, she soon found his hand caressing her face, and kissing her lips.

With Niina, it was quite the opposite. He had been nervous on a walk home, as he tried to find the words; he tried to be cool and mature, as though he were planning the perfect shojo-styled confession. Instead, as the sun began to set, he quickly blurted it out with a kiss on the cheek and ran off. It was sort of endearing.

You’d think that after two confessions, their friendship would truly be over. It’d be a lie if Aki said that she didn’t agonize over it for a few weeks. After all, you couldn’t like _two_ boys at the same time. It was against the rules. No one would allow it, especially those to. She thought there was something wrong with her. After all, in the end of all of those books, movies, and T.V shows, the girl ended up with one boy.

 _“Aki, have you ever heard about Draupadī?”_ Miyo asked one day when Aki was really struggling.

_“No,”_

_“She’s was a prolific character in the Hindu epic, the Maharabhata; An empress that married five demi-god brothers. The narrative is quite dramatic, but you could always tell that she loved her husbands,”_

_“That’s a nice story, Miyo, but this is real life that we are talking about,”_

_“I know. But even ancient texts have some truth to them. I’m sure you’re not the first to feel the way that you do,”_

_“What if they don’t accept my feelings?”_

_“You’ll never know until you make your feelings clear to them,”_

And so she tried. One day in the park, she had the three of them together and she told them how she loved both of them; that she didn’t know if she could choose between them. Not now, anyway.

She had expected everything to end right there and then. That their friendship would implode, and they would all go back to their separate lives; the judoka, the mini-nanpa and the girl like any other. After all, that was what made the most sense.

But real life rarely made sense, did it?


	7. An Ending, A Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki catches her ‘boys’ in a tender moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 7! The last day of Leather and Lace! I want to thank the organizers on tumblr for this super fun event! I’m still kind of ‘new’ to writing fanfiction, so this was incredibly fun to participate in. The last chapter is very short, but hopefully sweet!

She could see them from the small opening of her bedroom door, into the living room. There they were, the two of them, on the couch. Arashi lay his head on the lap of Niina’s and closed his eyes. He was saying something, but whatever it was, it was drowned out by the sound of the T.V. The expression on Niina’s face changed to a mix of annoyance and embarrassment as Arashi let out a laugh.

She wasn’t sure at first, but it happened. A kiss. This was not the first time the two of them had kissed before. Arashi was always more than willing to provide a set of lips.

But it was the first time she’d ever seen Niina initiate it. He was hesitant at first, shy even as his blue eyes gazed down at the older boy. He chewed the inside of his cheek, while he would tilt his head and then lift it up, hesitantly. Arashi didn’t move, his eyes seemingly closed.

And that’s when it happened; Niina finally leaned over and gave a soft kiss on Arashi’s lips before quickly sitting back up straight again. Arashi stirred slightly, with a small smile creeping onto his face. He said something else, which only received a huff and a turn of the head from Niina.

Aki couldn’t help but smile at the scene. For a long time, she was always worried that they would start to fight over her and ruin the friendship; that they would get her too choose between them in some sort of final showdown.  

But in the end, she didn’t need to worry at all.

For they loved each other just as much as they loved her.


End file.
